Men's Basketball Falls to Hartford in Opener, 74-59

The Central Connecticut men's basketball team fell to Hartford, 74-59, in the season-opener on Tuesday night at Detrick Gymnasium. The Hawks held the Blue Devils to one field goal in a five-plus minute span of the second half to build a double-digit lead en route to the win. Central travels to St. John's on Saturday, Nov. 9, for a 4:00 p.m. tipoff. The game will be carried on FS2.

Central had just two players in double-figures scoring with freshmen Greg Outlaw and Jamir Reed each scoring 13 points. Junior Stephane Ayangma grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, while sophomore Karrington Wallace added six points, five rebounds, two blocks and two steals. CCSU shot 42.3 percent (22-of-52) from the field on the night, but committed 19 turnovers, while Hartford shot 50.0 percent (13-of-26) from the field in the second half and 46.4 percent (26-of-56) for the game.

HIGHLIGHTS

GAME INFORMATION
Score: Central Connecticut 59, Hartford 74
Records: CCSU (0-1), UHART (1-0)
Location: Detrick Gymnasium | New Britain, CT

COACH QUOTE

"We'll watch a lot of film these next couple games. We have a tough three-game stretch coming up, but again this is game one and it doesn't define us. We have a young team, we're not using it as an excuse, and we have good basketball players in there when they play together," said head coach Donyell Marshall.

KEY MOMENTS

• The teams traded runs to open the game. UHart scored the first five points, followed by a 7-0 CCSU run. The Hawks then followed with six straight points to take an 11-7 lead.
• Freshman Jamir Reed gave Central a boost off the bench with seven points and put the Blue Devils ahead, 26-22.
• Wallace had a dunk with 17:12 to play to get CCSU within, 37-35. The Blue Devils would be held to one field goal over the next five-plus minutes. A layup by senior Jamir Coleman with 11:32 left cut the Hartford lead to 49-41.
• Hartford's lead grew to as much as 64-47 with 6:09 to play and CCSU would not be able to cut the deficit to single digits.

NUMBER TO KNOW

19 - Central committed 19 turnovers that Hartford turned into 17 points.

NOTES

• Central was just 10-of-19 (.526) from the foul line, while Hartford was 12-of-15 (.800).
• CCSU outrebounded Hartford, 35-33.
• The teams have split the last four meetings. CCSU leads the all-time series, 30-19.
• Outlaw added a team-high six assists.
• Coleman had a game-high three steals with five points and four rebounds.
• The Blue Devils had eight players play at least 16 minutes in the game.

UP NEXT
Central travels to St. John's on Saturday, Nov. 9, for a 4:00 p.m. tipoff. The game will be carried on FS2.